Anglican archbishop decries BBC prejudice

BY MARK GREAVES
THE ANGLICAN Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, has accused the BBC of bias against Christianity and of timidity in its approach to Islam.
The archbishop, the Church of England's second most senior figure, said Christians took "more knocks" than other faiths from the BBC.
"They can do to us what they dare not do to the Muslims," he commented. "We are fair game because they can get away with it. We don't go down there and say: We are going to bomb your place.' That is not in our nature."
Dr Sentamu's attack on the BBC follows accusations from the Catholic Church in England and Wales of "persistent bias" in the corporation's coverage.
Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor lodged a formal complaint last month after a BBC documentary suggested that Pope Benedict XVI had tried to cover up sex abuse scandals.
The Cardinal said the BBC's decision to broadcast a Panorama special called "Sex Crimes and the Vatican" had caused "enormous distress and alarm" among Catholics.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, the Anglican archbishop Dr Sentamu blamed the "chattering classes" for trying to uproot Britain's Christian heritage and for creating a culture that "almost dislikes" itself.
"They see themselves as holding the flag for Britain and that Britain is definitely secular and atheist. I want them to have their say but not to lord it over the rest of us," he said.
The Ugandan-born archbishop called for a return to family values and a rejection of consumerism. He explained that he dreaded the Christmas consumer binge.
"That huge tanker from China! Honestly, as if Britain is not capable of producing its own things. Do we need those toys? I would suggest that this Advent we should be eating less and not spending so much," he said.
The archbishop also lamented the breakdown of Britain's family life.
He said: "We have become a society where we all gather round the microwave or the television. Even while you are eating, the television is blaring. Come on! Parents should spend more time talking to children because behaviour is learned in the home," the archbishop added.
Dr Sentamu, who fled from Uganda in 1974 during the dictatorship of ldi Amin, was uncompromising on the subject of the veil.
He said Muslim scholars would ask three questions on the issue. "First, does it conform to norms of decency? Secondly, does it render you more secure? And thirdly, what kind of Islam are you projecting by wearing it?
"I think in the British context it renders you less secure because you stick out and it brings unwelcome attention. On the first question [of whether the veil conforms to norms of decency] I don't think it does conform."
The archbishop said he never wore a cross when visiting a synagogue or mosque, explaining: "Because I am going into someone else's home. And I can't simply say: 'Take me as I am, whether you like it or not.'
"I think the thing is in British society you can wear what you want, but you can't expect British society to be reconfigured around you. No minority can expect to impose this on the public or civic life."
The archbishop also defended the historical ties between the Church of England and the British Government, explaining that they acted as a "bulwark against a secularising agenda".